Irish docks row is far from over
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• Hauliers in Foynes Port, Co Limerick. are insisting that a dispute which resulted in a High Court injunction being served on them is far from over.
Foynes Port Company was granted a temporary injunction against eight independent hauliers last week to prevent them from blocking the port over a pay dispute.
The injunction was lifted after two days of talks between the port operating company, the hauliers, and the ships' agents.
All work at the port stopped when dockers came out in sympathy with the hauliers who were in dispute over rates, and their exclusive rights to the work there.
"We had an agreement with users of the port for a new rate from 1 September," says a spokesman for the hauliers. "But a different rate was being paid, and outside hauliers were brought in." However, they
strongly deny that they were blocking the port: "We were not picketing, we were not blocking with lorries," the spokesman adds. "We were just standing there, man by man,"
A proposal made by ships' agent Stafford Port Services for a rota system was rejected by the hauliers, who claim that under this plan only five hauliers would be working at any time, with three others "resting".
"If there were to be changes they would be discussed on 1 November," says the hauliers' spokesman. "A new rate was agreed from 1 September for review on 1November. That was when changes should have been discussed, if at all."
The hauliers had been unloading grain from the ship The Phillipos for Stafford Port Services when the dispute began. All eight returned to work after the talks, pending further discussions.